Blower not working

The other day my wife went to the store and said to me that the A/C wasn't working. She would turn the knob and no air would come out. After she got out of the store and was on her way home, it worked fine.

It continued to work for not much longer, then died while I was driving. The blower started to slow down, speed up, slow down, then just quit. During this I heard a clicking under the glove box, like an electrical clicking of sorts maybe even a shorting. The A/C and heater both seem to work, and it still makes a small noise with the A/C on with cold air coming out it's just barely pushing any air if any at all.

Anyone know how I can diagnose this problem? I absolutely suck with the electrical side of vehicles

I'm no expert but I'll pass along my knowledge. My blower was not working. I replaced the blower and now it works on high only. From what I understand this is the resistor on the evaporator that is bad now. I'm not sure if the resistor is completely bad if the fan still works or not?

The resistor is a good possibility. The reason it only works on high once the resistor goes bad is because on high the fan is getting full power, so the resistor isn't resisting anything. It's just sending full power through.

The only other option would be a relay. The motor is probably fine.

So he's probably best replacing the relay, then if the motor works on high the resistor and if the motor doesn't the motor?

The blower-motor resistor uses a thermal fuse that is all electronic, it's in the resistor assembly and looks like resistor in a metal can with one end being pointed. the pointed end is colored, red or white usually to signify the temp range that it opens up at.It is usually non-replaceable as you cannot solder it without getting it so hot that the fuse part opens up making it worthless. The factory uses a crimp connector to make the electrical connection. They are about $2.50 when you can find them but the trouble to replace one makes it easier to replace the entire resistor assembly. Check the connections to that resistor assembly, especially the connector socket, for burnt/corroded terminals. You may need to replace that socket it plugs into and your best bet for that part is at a junkyard.


Click here for a better description of the blower motor resistor

Thanks a lot for your tips everyone. I was a little impatient and knew if I didn't do it this weekend I'd not do it all week so I went ahead and started the project not knowing for sure what it is.

First, I'd like to say that I further diagnosed the problem. I heard a sputtering/clicking kind of sound coming from under the glove box. I opened the hood and listened. The sound was definitely coming from the blower motor. First, I switched the relay with the relay that controlled my anti-lock brakes. Not sure if that was a good idea, but the motor didn't work at all in that setup. With the relay back in place, the sputtering came back.

I decided to go ahead and get another blower motor since they are fairly cheap and I have a strong feeling that it is the blower motor. The process so far has been nothing short of a huge headache. I finally got the bolts out and the blower would not come out due to clearance. So I removed the air intake where the air filter is at to get it out. Getting the blower motor wheel off was very difficult as well and I ended up breaking the clip that held it in place. I don't believe the clip is necessary anyway though, as the wheel stayed in place quite well without it on the new motor. I was in the process of trying to put quite possibly the most difficult screw in that I've ever attempted when strong thunderstorms came. I quickly put everything in the explorer and am now waiting the storm out.

One thing I did observe is, the new motor has a definite 'click' when turning the fan whereas the old one did not have any resistance at all and would spin freely. If it still does not work once all is said and done, I think I'll still be glad I changed it.

Last but not least, I lost my hanes manual so I have been guessing how to do the whole thing lol. If anyone has any tips feel free to let me know but at this point I believe I can finish from here since I've gotten it all apart.

You just gotta go slow. You mentioned losing a clip? If it's a C clip holding the shaft to the fan I'd get another one. Any parts store should have a selection of them. Sounds like you're just about done. Good luck!

The blower motor was actually the OEM blower that came on the car after further investigation. Quite impressive that it made it to 270K miles.

The clip which held the fan blade (the blade itself is plastic, the clip was metal) in I broke off when I put the new one on. I may regret not putting the clip on someday, but I do doubt it. The blower blade stayed on quite well and the most difficult part of the whole process was putting the screws back in. The screw kept falling and getting stuck in the vehicle. I finally just got some duct tape, shoved the screw through the duct tape and taped it to the socket. Worked a charm, once the screw was tightened I just ripped the duct tape off lol.

I plan on doing a little how to about this as it was not as cut and dry as I had expected.

On a final note, that was the problem and actually now the motor seems to blow harder than the last one ever did. I'm sure it may slow down eventually, but great while it lasts.

Here is a link to my tutorial on how to do this if anyone would like to see.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2200531

Awesome write up!

Thanks. Honestly, when I first looked at it I thought it would be a simple 3 bolts swap it out in 10 minutes so I did not think to take pictures. Wish I had some pictures to go with it heh

This is one of the links in # 55 in my list of useful threads: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t321671.html

fixxxer said:

the blower-motor resistor uses a thermal fuse that is all electronic, it's in the resistor assembly and looks like resistor in a metal can with one end being pointed. The pointed end is colored, red or white usually to signify the temp range that it opens up at.it is usually non-replaceable as you cannot solder it without getting it so hot that the fuse part opens up making it worthless. The factory uses a crimp connector to make the electrical connection. They are about $2.50 when you can find them but the trouble to replace one makes it easier to replace the entire resistor assembly. Check the connections to that resistor assembly, especially the connector socket, for burnt/corroded terminals. You may need to replace that socket it plugs into and your best bet for that part is at a junkyard.

click here for a better description of the blower motor resistor

Click to expand...

where is this located at on a 96 explorer?

The resistor is near the blower motor.